Hadewijch (2009, Bruno Dumont)

There are many interesting questions asked in Hadewijch, but yet this is something of a substance over style affair. In its favour, the film doesn't harbour any dogmatism & is effective in exploring the limits of blind faith (within a worldly context), & what its ramifications can be. Unfortunately, substance does not by default equate to being a successful work. It is also something of a problematic affair in that in its explorations of the extremities of faith in that it eventually links together the extremes of the individual's blind faith in God & that of Islamic terrorism. It's rather ambiguous, & almost rightly so, but these modes of comparison & linking almost seem a little too convenient, not to mention that within the context of the narrative seems almost unnecessary & half thought out.

Religion, or at least religious motifs run through all of Bruno Dumont's films, but this is certainly the most overt. Sometimes these references are subtle in his work, some not so much. Hadewijch at times employs some of the most obvious of symbolism. Having seen all of Dumont's films up to this point, the film also feels overly familiar; what comes to mind first is the platonic relationship between Celine & Yassine bringing to mind the platonic relationship initially provoked by rejection of sexual advances between Marie & Kader in The Life of Jesus. Mind you, Flanders lost a considerable degree of its emotional impact due its familiar tone, but it at least rarely evoked deja vu of the director's other work. I feel as though there was some attempt at creating some sort of emotional connection to Celine (his secondary characters not so much so) while simultaneously evoking an air of ambiguity, but ironically Hadewijch ends up feeling far more distant than Dumont's previous work that while slower & more meditative also resulted in a more engaging viewing experience.